Human Services Minister Michael Keenan says 20 orders have been issued, with his department looking to ramp up efforts to recoup the funds owed by people who no longer receive welfare.

The travel ban will be used to try and crack down on people who cheat the welfare system.

"If you received a payment you were not entitled to, you have an obligation to repay the money you owe and we will use every tool at our disposal to ensure it is recovered," Mr Keenan said in a statement on Saturday.

He insists people currently receiving welfare or making repayments will not be targeted by the measure, but former recipients who refuse to pay back their debt would also be charged interest.

The rate of repayment will be measured against an individual's circumstances and those in hardship can defer their returns, Mr Keenan said.

"We've tried every possible way to get them to repay that money, or to start to repay that money, to enter into a plan to repay that money, but they've completely ignored us," Mr Keenan said.

"So if you go to the airport, and you owe us, say, a couple of thousand dollars, or tens of thousands of dollars, then we don't believe that you should be able to go on an overseas holiday, for example, if you owe us money because you've got overpayments from the welfare system," Mr Keenan said.

"We will stop you from doing that, and that use has already saved us significant sums of money."

The first ban was placed on a person who was travelling for business from NSW to an undisclosed overseas location. The person had a debt of around $10,000, according to the ABC.

Another case was in Victorian, where a person with a $60,000 debt tried to travel overseas. Since being hit with the ban, they have started paying back the debt.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he doesn’t want Australia’s stronger economy to be compromised by bludgers who won’t pay back their debt. Picture: AAP Image/Joel Carrett.